Game of the Week: Maplestory

Oh dear, what have I done to myself. Brace yourselves folks, it’s time for an emotional and critical Game of the Week featuring none other than one of the most time-wasting, grind-heavy, non free player friendly MMORPG, Maplestory. Now, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this game, a lot of good mixed with a lot of bad. I did, and still do have fun playing this game with a group of friends (that may or may not include a certain movie blogger ;)) and feel like I have come to terms with the fact that despite all the changes, all the fancy skills, and the drastic change in leveling design, this game is at its heart a grind-fest designed to test both your patience and at some points your ability to keep change in your pocket (meso sacks and permanent pets, I’m looking at you). I originally started playing Maplestory some 5 or 6 years ago, maybe more. I started playing before Ludibrium came out, before even Orbis was really established, back when grinding to level thirty was almost a years worth of work and it was impossible to get anywhere beyond that. I was playing when people still wore Beta Bandanas, and Perion channel 1 was essentially the free market. Things were a lot simpler back then, harder yes, but simpler nonetheless.

Additionally, there were only the basic 4 adventurer classes: Warrior, Bowman, Magician and Thief, each of which were unique in almost every sense of the word. With the addition of the Cygnus Knights and the hero classes, I feel that the good folks over at Nexon no longer care about the original explorers, all of whom I have very deep bonds with compared to the other classes. With the advent of the Phantom Thief upon us, I feel that Nexon has created a monstrosity of a game that not only keeps you locked in its mighty clutches, but keeps you coming back for more at points much later on in your life with the promise of new adventures and ways to have fun. It lies. There are no new adventures. There may be a tad bit of fun in the initial joy you get from logging back onto your character and receiving something new. “Maybe Nexon really does care” you begin to think, before you realize that you’re back into the same old grind fest it has always been, and perhaps always will be. At least in the days long gone you might kill your time with a game of Omok or cards, but even those have disappeared. Nobody sits still and chats anymore, and everyone just seems to want to show off their latest chair or newest potentialed armor. It’s not the game I fell in love with anymore…so why do I keep playing?

The Cygnus Knights, each representing a different original explorer.

I’ll tell you why. Because when you’re bored and have nothing else to do, Maple is there to ease your boredom and keep you entranced long enough to level up and think that maybe you can finally hit that 4th job advancement this time. Truly the best of time wasting, addicting games that just keep you coming back for more. Granted, Nexon support is horrible and haven’t answered a ticket I submitted somewhere close to a year ago, but do they know how to keep you going every other month. I have honestly quit this game more times than I can count, only to come back a couple of months or years later to ‘check in’ and see what’s changed. To be fair, the gameplay is simple and the controls are rather easy to adapt to, so its no wonder that I choose this game over most others to be my go-to time waster. I can’t really complain TOO much more about it, however, as I do have some deep emotional connection to Maplestory. This is the game that I played growing up through Middle School and High School as far as MMO style games are concerned. Sure there are probably infinitely more (or better) games to play overall, but Maplestory is the only one that has given me such a grand, exciting experience.

From the cartoon like, 2D effects to the amazing and detailed (not to mention lag-inducing) skill animations, Maplestory probably reminds me most of simpler platformer games due to its art content. It’s a rather big stretch, but I can almost refer to it as an MMO Mario in a way (and who doesn’t love Mario?). Even nowadays I can log on to just simply walk around the world for a bit. Once you reach a high enough level you stop caring about who’s got the strongest weapons and who has the best build (dex-less assassins, I’m looking at you), and just play the game for the fun of it. I honestly don’t care if someone has over a couple of billion mesos, that’s how they choose to enjoy the game. I’ll enjoy it by walking around, enjoying the sights, and slaying monsters that are a couple levels weaker than me. I think the one thing I’d have to say that I missed the most of the ‘Old World’, which is the pre-Big Bang patch world, was Lith Harbor (the starting town), and its original layout. I don’t think too many people still play that remember the days before Orbis, or when Zombie Mushrooms spawned in Sleepywood instead of Drakes. Sure the game was harder back then, and definitely more frustrating, but that was MY Maplestory world.

That’s enough nostalgia for now. I honestly went into the article not having a clue as to what I would write about, but now that I’m finishing it up I think I couldn’t have written it any better than I have now. Maplestory is a timeless game to me, although others may not see it that way, but it is. It is the MMO that many people use as an introduction to the genre, and definitely the one that gets people addicted to the grind-heavy, item-looting, monster-filled world that is the MMO genre. Granted, it’s not always that severe, but generally those are staples of the greatest games of our time. I’ll try to end this article before I continue to ramble on, however, and I hope that you will at least pick it up and try it (if you’re into that kind of thing, I highly recommend it). It’s easy, fun, and sometimes frustrating, but the key is to play for the love of the game and to have fun. Who cares if your damage is low? Who cares if you’re a low level? Everyone has to start somewhere.

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2 Responses

Like you, I also grew up on Maplestory. During my summers in middle school I would just sit there and grind, logging hours upon hours until dawn shown through my window. This was mainly my fault because I messed up the ability point build of my swordsman, but none the less I loved that character. Of course I made friends too, but I just remember constantly trying to beat my brother and say a couple of levels ahead of him. I know I never even made it to level 100, but my sentiments are very similar to yours. I think you captured it perfectly by calling it the Mario of MMOs; it certainly will have that title forever in my mind.

I don’t see the point of the new classes, but I will be logging on this summer to my bowman in a new world to keep looking for the elusive feeling I got the first time I discovered the game. It’s just like a damn drug 😛

I definitely was hoping to catch the eye of some readers with the Mario comparison, as I felt it was a good comparison as well. I’m glad you shared the same spark that I had when I played during childhood. The game definitely has a way of sucking you back in and making things enjoyable (and a bit addicting). I am actually also still playing on an original Adventurer (albeit on the Zenith server) from time to time. The new classes seem fun and all, but the older ones just give me that good feeling inside.